Beautiful life [ビューティフルライフ]Rating: 10/10 (Bought & Watched)So far, this is the best series I have had the pleasure of watching. Watched it unsubtitled the first time and I still cried, then I finally bought a copy with subtitles and I bawled like a baby.

Besuto patona [べストパートナー]Rating: 4/10 (Watched)I caught this on KTSF one weekend, and to be honest, it wasn't all that great.

Majo no jouken [魔女の条件]Rating: 8/10 (Bought & Watched)Immediately after seeing GTO, I started hunting down more Matsushima Nanako doramas and ended up buying this one. It was vastly different from the comedy work I had just seen, but it definitely showed her impressive range as an actress.

Over Time [オーバー・タイム]Rating: 10/10 (Bought & Watched)Esumi Makiko is my Goddess. I saw her in Shomuni 2 first, and when I heard that she had done this series with Sorimachi Takashi, I jumped all over this series and watched it all in one shot! I beleive that this is Sorimachi and Esumi's "A" Game performance so far.

Shomuni [ショムニ]Rating: 8/10 (Bought & Watched)I died laughing at this series. Esumi Makiko's character in Tsuboi Chinatsu is so straightforward and nonchalantly raunchy that it serves as the anchor to the rest of the characters. I love this show!

Shomuni 2 [ショムニ 2]Rating: 9/10 (Watched)Hilarious! This one struck me as a non-serialistic anime series done up in live-action, similiar to GTO. Esumi Makiko captured my heart and my fandom with a single episode.

Star no Koi [スタアの恋]Rating: 9/10 (Bought & Watched)Great series, sucks you right in from the beginning, and you will not stop watching until it's done. Heartwarming.

Yamato Nadeshiko [やまとなでしこ【大和撫子】]Rating: 8/10 (Bought & Watched)Matsushima Nanako appears to be doomed to either playing teachers, flight attendants, or teachers aspiring to become flight attendants. Regardless, this hilarious sendup of gold-digging in the modern Japanese society was well worth my time.

otaking's drama reviews (2)

Beautiful life [ビューティフルライフ]An Emotionally Powerful Bittersweet Romance Story [Rating: 10/10]From the writer of the popular drama Long Vacation, comes a tale of a talented hair stylist and a librarian living with a handicap, set against the backdrop of Aoyama. Bringing these two characters to life and together are the one-two angst punch of Kimura Takuya (from Long Vacation, in the role of Okishima Shuji, the stylist), and Tokiwa Takako (from Utsukushi Hito, in the role of Machida Kyoko). Appearing in supporting roles are Mizuno Miki (currently starring in Hatsu Taiken, she portrayed Kyoko's best friend Tamura Sachi), Ikeuchi Hiroyuki (from GTO [Drama], in the role of Shuji's kohai [junior] Okabe Takumi), and the most memorable performance within this series comes from actor Watabe Atsuro, playing Kyoko's younger brother Masao.
Machida Kyoko and Okishima Shuji have a chance encounter in the streets of Aoyama. With a carelessly outstretched hand from the window of her car, she nearly knocks Shuji from his motorcycle. After a terse exchange, they find that they have ac ommon destination; the library where Kyoko is employed. Following another short exchange, Kyoko's handicap is revealed in a rather gentle way, and our story unfolds.
This series lasts eleven episodes and will not fail to tickle your funny bone from the start, then begin tugging at your heart until the very end. Keep a box of tissue handy, as the depth of these characters are superbly potrayed by this cast, not to mention the realism of the story masterfully written by Kitagawa Eriko. This was the highest rated drama in its season in Japan, and the last episode kept them talking for quite a while after.

Star no Koi [スタアの恋]What a Way to Get introduced to Kusanagi Tsuyoshi. [Rating: 9/10]Having never previously been an audience to the performance of Kusanagi Tsuyoshi, I began watching this series in awe at the portrayal of a simple yet gentle ham salesman. The entire opposites attract story was a joy to watch, with an actress falling for a salaryman. Fujiwara Norika delivers a stunning performance as Hikaruko, complete with the subtle art of playing an actress within a dorama. This series instantly became one of my favorite doramas.